Skilled Sponsored (subclass 176)

Overview

This permanent visa replaced the State Territory Nominated Independent (subclass 137) visa, the Skilled - Australian Sponsored (subclass 138) visa, and the Skilled Australian Sponsored New Zealand Citizen (subclass 862) visa on 01 September 2007. New Zealand citizens can use this visa subclass regardless of whether they are within Australia or not when the decision is made.

This visa is scored on a points based system with 100 points required to pass and 80 points required to be placed into a reserve pool.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for a Skilled - Sponsored (subclass 176) visa, applicants must meet certain requirements.

The person applying must be under 45 years of age and be sponsored by an eligible relative living in Australia or a state/territory government.

Applicants must meet the English language requirement threshold of:

• competent English; or
• vocational English if the applicant's nominated occupation is a trade

The applicant must nominate an occupation listed on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) and have a suitable skills assessment from the relevent assessing authority for the nominated occupation.

The person applying must have either:

• been employed for 12 out of the last 24 months in an occupation listed on the SOL; or
• met the two year study requirement in the last six months with Australian qualifications closely related to the nominated occupation

The applicant must meet the points test threshold of 100 points and pass all health and character requirements.